Mang Hou

Chapter 561 Lost City

ps. Slight wateriness.

The Eternal Night, powered by alchemical sails and a steam boiler, sped across the sea like a flying fish.

From afar, everyone witnessed the terrifying scene of the monster preying, and a chill ran down their spines.

Had they been a step slower, being swallowed by that monster would have been unimaginable.

However, when Su Lun teleported onto the deck, the Dawnbreaker crew finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the end, they had all escaped unscathed.

They exchanged glances, smiles of survival gracing their faces.

In the eyes of adventurers, hardship was simply a rare experience, especially one as perilous as this hellish journey that few others could attempt.

With no casualties, the Dawnbreaker crew were in good spirits.

Seeing Su Lun return safely, the sword intent that had gathered around Chitiao dissipated. She then looked languid, muttering, "Oh, what a pity... I was just getting into the battle."

Hearing this, Lolota looked at her teacher with starry eyes and said, "Teacher, you just slashed a Rank 6 undead dragon with one strike! You were super amazing!"

Chitiao glared at her disciple, not in anger.

Su Lun also felt it was a pity; her state just then was indeed hard to come by.

Fortunately, in this environment rich with hellish energy, Chitiao's condition seemed consistently excellent. That earlier strike had already set one foot firmly into a new realm. With some consolidation, she might find a new opportunity.

Because they had anticipated the dangers of the Dragon Country sea area, even after experiencing a near-total annihilation battle, the Dawnbreaker crew maintained a good mindset.

Exploring the unknown and adventuring were, after all, the greatest joys of seafaring.

"Oh, I've never seen a monster that big in my life. Speaking of which, hell creatures sure look weird."

"But this harvest is good. Four Rank 6 pure-blood undead dragons, and one Rank 7... You can't get so many good materials outside."

"Hahaha, yes! Senior Bartolo said there are many ancient ruins in this space."

"Tsk tsk, this cursed space, from which no one has ever returned alive, must be hiding countless treasures."

"..."

The atmosphere on deck was relaxed. The crisis had passed, and they had even more expectations for the journey ahead.

The ship lights dimmed again, plunging the surroundings back into that underworld-filtered darkness.

While chatting idly, the Dawnbreaker crew also busied themselves with their respective duties: cleaning the bloodstains on the deck, collecting the tons of spent shells from the close-in defense guns, reloading ammunition... and so on.

With one battle over, everyone knew that more battles would inevitably follow soon.

......

Su Lun walked on the deck, and several Dawnbreaker executives and advisors gathered around him.

Barrett removed his heavy armor helmet, revealing his head. Looking at the still turbulent sea, he laughed and said, "Hey, this is the first time in my life I've seen a monster that big. Tsk tsk, truly a wonderful adventure."

Nineteen: "Yeah. Where else would a living person come to hell? I now know what hell is like..."

The Blood Duke, Wordsworth, laughed and said, "It's not just you guys. I've lived for almost eight hundred years, and I've never seen anything like it."

.... Dora: "But the harvest is really rich. We just came in, and we've already harvested five pure-blood dragons. These materials are rare treasures."

The Old Sword Saint, Bartolo, also sighed with emotion: "Yes. If this were outside, you might not encounter one in several years."

He had hunted dragons for over twenty years and had only encountered three pure-blood dragons. They had hunted five on this one trip, which was an incredible harvest.

But he was even more impressed by the vitality of the Dawnbreaker crew.

Compared to how the Black Sam's crew had gradually succumbed to despair in this space, this perilous situation was just a thrilling and exciting adventure for this young team.

The group chatted for a few moments.

At this moment, Su Lun took out one of his sea charts, getting to the point, and said, "You all saw the situation just now. Now I think we need to re-plan our sailing route..."

Hearing this, everyone focused their attention on the sea chart.

The chart detailed the various islands, wind direction, and currents in the Dragon Country sea area, and the scale was very precise.

Such an excellent sea chart naturally came from the professional chart maker, Tani.

Su Lun had previously had a [Dragon Country Sea Chart], but the ancient cartography techniques were far less accurate than modern ones, so he had Tani redraw it.

Moreover, this new sea chart not only had all the markings from the previous chart, but also Bartolo's descriptions of the Black Sam's crew's route that year, and various materials found in the Silver Dragon Country treasury. It already included all the information currently known to the Dawnbreaker crew.

Compared to the Black Sam's crew, who had arrived with a single incomplete treasure map, this map was infinitely better.

Su Lun pointed and said, "The current situation is somewhat different from our original plan, so I want to discuss with you all what to do next..."

They had entered the cursed space more than ten days closer than the Black Sam's crew had, which brought many more variables to the future.

Everyone understood Su Lun's meaning and began to discuss it.

"Since this cursed space is roughly the same as the outside route, I think we should continue sailing according to the original plan. Anyway, it's completely unfamiliar sea areas, and there's risk in choosing any route..."

"Agreed."

"..."

The discussion was very efficient, and a subsequent sailing plan was directly produced.

Su Lun had already considered it very carefully. The purpose of the discussion was actually just to inform everyone.

At this time, Su Lun said again, "Another problem is... we not only have to deal with the monsters in this cursed space, but I think those guys from the Celestial Plane should also come to our door."

Hearing this, everyone's expressions turned solemn.

Compared to monsters, the threat of those mages from the Celestial Plane was equally significant.

Especially in this environment, it was hard to say who would have the advantage in a real battle.

However, only Chitiao, upon hearing this, not only did not worry, but instead looked expectant and asked, "Su Lun, are you saying that red-robed mage will actively come to our door?"

"Yes. It's highly likely."

Su Lun nodded and said again, "That guy is originally a necromancer, and this environment is his home field. Most importantly, all his inheritance and family wealth from his necromancer lineage are here with me. I think he will definitely come to snatch them back, even at the cost of his life. And..."

.... "This is his only chance. Outside, he couldn't do anything to us even in his prime, and now that he only has the flame of his soul, it's even more impossible."

Su Lun had previously inventoried the red-robed mage's loot and discovered that the harvest was greater than it appeared.

From those magical notes, Su Lun learned that the red-robed mage was named Yale Robbins, and he was from a necromantic magic faction called Holy Flame of the Soul, and he was also a high-ranking cleric of the Holy Church.

Those books and the like were all secret techniques passed down through the "Robbins lineage" for thousands of years.

It could be said that those things represented the inheritance of a magical system that could lead to the divine rank.

This kind of complete inheritance was priceless even in the Celestial Plane.

And that undead space and the countless monsters inside were also the inherited treasures accumulated by the necromancers of his Holy Flame of the Soul lineage over thousands of years.

That guy had lost such important things and definitely had no face to return to the Celestial Plane.

That's why Su Lun predicted that he would definitely come on his own initiative.

Moreover, if there was to be a fight, he would only have a little confidence in this cursed space.

With this analysis, the Dawnbreaker crew all nodded in agreement.

Barrett: "We really have to guard against that guy causing trouble. Although a mage with only his soul left may not be a big threat, if he attracts monsters to besiege us, the situation may not be good."

Nineteen: "Necromancers are good at controlling all kinds of undead monsters, and this cursed space is not short of undead monsters. We have to be more careful..."

Dora: "That guy was able to find us last time, and he will definitely be able to this time. He might already be ambushing us somewhere."

Mr. Black: "He probably used divination magic to determine our location. After all, that guy is a servant of the gods and can be exempted from the cost of death, so he can naturally be exempted from some of the costs of divination. But we can't determine his coordinates, which is very passive."

Wordsworth: "..."

"..."

With the topic shifted, everyone analyzed various possibilities from a tactical and strategic perspective.

Su Lun and the others had used the trick of diverting disaster to others many times, so they were especially careful.

But precisely because they couldn't determine where the enemy was, it made them feel very passive.

Only the carefree Chitiao's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she muttered with anticipation, "Ah... my [Buddha Slaughter] is coming..."

Su Lun couldn't help but laugh, then changed the subject and said his own thoughts, "What I mean is, since we can't determine that guy's location, we can judge the ambush location he would choose, and then turn the tables."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, everyone looked sideways.

They knew that Su Lun had never let anyone down, and that if he spoke, he would definitely have a way.

Su Lun explained in detail: "I have carefully studied all the necromantic secrets of that lineage. That lineage is weak in direct combat, but especially good at soul secrets. Now that he only has the flame of his soul, the extent to which he can control undead monsters is very limited. I estimate that he can only drive monsters around Rank 8 at most. Therefore, if he wants to pose a threat to our Dawnbreaker crew, he will definitely not come head-on, and will most likely find a place with many ghost-type monsters... Moreover, this place must be somewhere our route will pass."

Hearing this, everyone thought of the scene where that guy's soul escaped earlier.

.... With a little thought, they immediately understood, and their expressions lit up.

That's right...

By judging his intentions from what the enemy is capable of, wouldn't they immediately be able to reverse-engineer the enemy's decision?

As long as they could judge what the enemy was planning to do, wouldn't that be reverse-determining the enemy's location?

Hearing this, the Old Sword Saint, Bartolo, also showed an approving look and said, "Little friend Su Lun's idea is indeed good. There are many ghost-type monsters in this hellish space, even more threatening than ordinary monsters... Thinking about it this way, that guy only has this choice."

Everyone listened and agreed with this plan.

Hearing everyone express their approval of his idea, Su Lun shrugged, then threw a bucket of cold water and said, "However, there is another problem with this plan: there are many ghost-type monsters in the cursed space, and I'm not sure where that guy will choose."

Hearing this, everyone also felt that it was a problem.

The cursed space had no shortage of monsters.

Who could guarantee which monsters the enemy would drive to attack them?

"This may not be a big problem."

But Bartolo shook his head with a smile upon hearing this.

Having been here before, he thought of a plan and said, "Although we can't determine where the enemy will ambush us, we can decide our own direction of travel! No matter what means the enemy uses to grasp our whereabouts, they can only determine where we will go, not where to lead us. The initiative is in our hands. We can completely find a place with many ghosts and let the other party definitely choose to attack there... and then solve that guy first."

Only by solving the enemy first could they continue to sail with peace of mind.

Otherwise, there would be endless hidden dangers.

Hearing this, Su Lun immediately knew that the Old Sword Saint must have an idea and asked, "Senior, do you know of such a place?"

"Yes."

Bartolo thought and said, "When our Black Sam's crew entered this space, we encountered a human kingdom ruin, which had a lot of ghost monsters. However, we didn't dare to carefully inspect the ruins at the time in order to survive and escape. That place would be very suitable for a necromancer to ambush."

As he spoke, he pointed out the coordinates on the sea chart.

Seeing this, Su Lun immediately felt that the plan was perfect!

Bartolo added, "However, the only trouble is that ghost-type monsters are immune to physical and magical damage, which is very tricky for practitioners who have not comprehended domineering aura. Moreover, there may be many high-level monsters in that ruin. If we don't have countermeasures, that will also be a big problem."

Hearing this, Dora, the team's chief mechanic, interjected, "In this regard, the problem is not too big. The Mafa military has previously developed special [Purple Light Bullets] and [Mithril Bullets], which cause very considerable damage to dark and ghost-type monsters. Although there are not many ammunition reserves in the warehouse, the war workshop can work overtime in these few days to produce some. As long as there is enough ammunition, it should be enough to cope with most situations."

Hearing this, the Blood Duke, Wordsworth, twitched at the corner of his eye for some reason.

They, the blood clan, were too familiar with this ammunition.

[Mithril Bullets] were evil-breaking ammunition. This ammunition not only harmed ghost monsters, but also had a huge damage bonus to them, the blood clan.

.... The bounty guild's demon hunters had used this kind of ammunition to kill his blood descendants.

But no one had heard of [Purple Light Bullets].

Dora explained that this was a kind of ammunition that extracted divine elements from sunlight and belonged to a secret product developed by Mafa.

These special ammunition had not been used much on the battlefields of the two great empires before, so they were little known.

Su Lun did know about it, so he had this plan.

Moreover, his own methods for dealing with ghosts were also very strong, and he added, "If it's a soul monster, my methods can also restrain it. Moreover, a soul cursed item I obtained before has been repaired. Even high-level ghost-type monsters can be dealt with."

Hearing this, everyone no longer had any concerns.

The current Dawnbreaker crew had gathered almost the top elites in various fields of the alchemy plane: mechanics, biotechnology, traditional alchemy, legion command, navigation... So when they encountered problems, they could almost immediately think of good ways to solve them.

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Everyone pointed at the map, continued to discuss some details, and waited for the enemy to come to their door.

......

Half a month passed in a flash.

The Eternal Night sailed all the way on this hellish sea.

Their route was still the route of the Black Sam's crew back then. Although it was also full of danger and unknowns, after all, that route avoided some particularly deep areas, and the monsters were relatively less strong.

However, they had encountered many battles these days.

Fortunately, the current strength of the Dawnbreaker crew was far stronger than that of the Black Sam's crew back then, and they had been prepared for it. They had also had some narrow escapes along the way.

Although they had encountered some ridiculously large hellish creatures, they were fortunate not to encounter monsters like the [Hell Sea Anemone] before, which were simply unsolvable.

As for the distortion factors such as breathing, drinking water, and food in this [Hellish Dragon Country] cursed space, which had brought despair to the Black Sam's crew, the threat to the Dawnbreaker crew was also very limited. They had prepared sufficient supplies and could support themselves for a long time without relying on external supplements. What's more, Su Lun's small void space already had its own farm and drinking water circulation system, which could be self-sufficient for countless years even if the food reserves ran out.

On this day, the Eternal Night continued to sail.

On the deck, Su Lun and Chitiao were meditating on the top of the mast.

Since coming to this cursed space more than ten days ago, the danger alarms had hardly stopped.

Having to be on guard against fighting all day long was a torture for everyone's spirit. Normal people would collapse in a few days, and they would be more likely to become distorted.

Therefore, the high-level combatants in the team replaced most of the ordinary members and took on the duty of guarding, so that everyone could take turns to rest.

And Su Lun and Chitiao were the least affected by the environment, and the two of them had almost always been on the mast as lookouts.

Neither of them spoke, silently meditating.

Perception was released outward, observing everything around.

Su Lun didn't open his eyes, but that didn't mean he didn't know the changes in Chitiao around him.

With each breath, it was as if there was thunder in her chest.

These days, sailing all the way to the depths of the ruins, he could also clearly feel that the laws of heaven and earth were becoming more and more complete. After all, this cursed space was connected to the real hell plane.

It was in this kind of environment that Chitiao, like a fish in water, was becoming stronger and stronger.

So strong that it made people feel as if she had merged with this hell.

Su Lun was also happy to see this.

However, at the moment when his thoughts were flowing, suddenly!

Su Lun in meditation suddenly opened his eyes.

Lord Crow on the top of the mast shared his vision, and he vaguely saw traces of buildings in the extremely distant field of vision.

"We're here?!"

Seeing the magnificent city with huge white stone pillars, Su Lun immediately realized that it might be the ancient ruins that the Old Sword Saint, Bartolo, had mentioned.

This was a city that might be from the Dawn Age, marked on the incomplete treasure map obtained by the Black Sam's crew as the Lost City - Atlantis.

Mechanical Alchemist.

Mang Hou reminds you: Remember to bookmark after reading.